We’ve all tried being late for personal events or meetings. We’ve all had meetings that just seem to take forever, where people eventually start doing other things because the content is simply not organized and planned for concrete actions to be the end product.

Why are we late? And why do we have these meetings if we don’t really get the desired result?

The answer is: we don’t plan ahead and take our time to clear our minds, making the objectives stand out clearly, being ready for the task.

This happens to all of us. Eventually we might start planning the day, but urgent phone calls, emails and last-minute meetings can make the plan evaporate and at the same time make our effectiveness decline. Another point is rushing from one thing to another, for example when having two meetings at the office with different people. 

Bregman Partners CEO, Peter Bregman, commented on this in a recent blog post where he explained:

“If we took a few minutes before the meeting to really think about it, we could drastically shorten it.”

So why do we let this happen all the time? Maybe simply because we don’t realize the effect it’s having on our productivity. Start thinking about how you normally plan your day. Do you sit down and think about the tasks you have to do before you open your first emails? Do you take a moment to think about the day and your accomplishments, before even starting to work?

If not, you might let yourself slip away with the ‘current’, but if you do so the results will be visible right away. As Bregman notes:

“Even five or 10 minutes of that kind of planning can shave 30 minutes off a task. Think about your outcome. Think about what you really need from people. And then, in a move that will make everyone else in the room overjoyed, let them know you want to make the 60 minute meeting 30 minutes and tell them how you plan to do it.”

So what is there to learn from this?

1. Take time to plan your day.
2. Make time to clear your mind in between tasks.
3. Think about what your objectives are before you start working or start a meeting.